take this moment
by she was the book thief
Summary: Eleven drabbles for Rae.  i: LorcanDomLysander ii: TeddyVic iii: Mollorc iv: LilyJames v: Romione vi: GeorgeAngelina vii: HarryGinny viii: JamesIICalla ix: Scorrose x: LouisAmelie xi: KatieOliver
1. i: lorcandomlysander

She was drowning.  
>Water engulfed her, swirling over her pain-wracked body, filling her lungs to the brim.<br>She was drowning and there was no way out. No salvation. No hope.  
>And it was all her fault. She had done this to herself. If only she hadn't been lured in by his sly charm and swarthy debonair looks. If only she'd listened to Victoire when she warned Dom against Lorcan. Because Lorcan was a heartbreaker. Poor little Lily was proof of that.<br>Just as the water swept over her eyes, she heard someone call her name.  
>"Lysander?" she murmured, before her battered body slipped beneath the surface of the waves for the final time.<p> 


	2. ii: teddyvic

"Teddy, stop that!" Victoire cried as her brand-new fiancé twirled her around in dizzying circles.  
>"But we're getting married!" he shouted exuberantly.<br>"Honestly, Teddy. Did you think we wouldn't? I've been waiting for you to ask me for about two years." She rolled her eyes at his gift for missing the obvious.  
>"You were?" he exclaimed, his eyebrows turning yellow in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"<br>She threw up her hands in exasperation and then gave up on keeping her composure and burst into peals of laughter.  
>"What?" Teddy demanded. "Why are you always laughing at me?"<br>This only made Victoire laugh harder. "It's just that you - oh, never mind."  
>"What?" he pressed on. "What about - oh look, mistletoe!"<br>He gestured to the mantel above them, which was bedecked with a lovely display of mistletoe and red bows.  
>"You should know, now that we're engaged, you don't need an excuse to kiss me," she whispered, pressing her hands to his sweater-clad chest.<br>"Excellent," he murmured, brushing his lips against hers.  
>"Teddy," she whined.<br>His teeth flashed in a brief smile before he bent his head to hers once more in a proper kiss.


	3. iii: mollorc

Every Christmas Eve, they visited the tiny grave. Lorcan would conjure up a wreath of Christmas roses and Molly would lay them on the grace of their baby, their tiny Arrosa, who would never grow up, never see her mother's eyes or hear her father's laugh.  
>"We'd better go, Molls," Lorcan said gently, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist. "It's starting to snow."<br>Molly sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "Yes, we should," she agreed. "Give me one more minute?"  
>Lorcan didn't say anything, but kissed the top of her head, where a snowflake had settled.<br>Molly stared at the grave for a moment longer, then sniffed and whispered, "Happy Christmas, Arrosa." Then, turning to her husband, she whispered, "Let's go home, Lorc."  
>Leaning on each other, the pair made their way across the cemetery, through the gate, and out of sight, leaving nothing but the snow gently yet steadily falling against the gray winter sky.<p> 


	4. iv: lilyjames

Lily stopped dead in her tracks. "James, what exactly are you wearing?"  
>Her boyfriend looked up at her. "Muggle clothes. You told me to put on Muggle clothes so we could go for a walk, so I-"<br>Lily held up a hand, half amused and half exasperated. "Those are Muggle clothes, dear, but they're - well, they're women's clothes," she managed before bursting onto fits of laughter.  
>"What? This?" James asked, sounding horrified and holding up his long flowered dress. "It's a Muggle robe! Remus gave it to me!"<br>Lily only laughed harder. "It's a dress, James. Women wear them on special occasions. Um - here," she said handing him a sweater and a pair of jeans, which she had just conjured. "Go change."  
>Ten minutes later, they had managed to make it to the small park near the flat that James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus shared.<br>Lily gave a small shriek and then a giggle as James picked her up from behind and twirled her around in the crisp October air. Even with the war raging around them, threatening to tear apart their lives at any moment, she was still incredibly happy when she was with him.  
>"Lily?" he asked tentatively, still slightly afraid of her fierce temper after a year of dating.<br>"Hmm?"  
>He breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't snapped at him. "I love you."<br>She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I love you too."  
>They smiled sweetly at each other for a moment before James tangled his fingers in her red hair and kissed her.<p> 


	5. v: romione

He was running, faster than he'd ever run before, and still it wasn't fast enough.

Through the seemingly endless narrow stone walls of the Malfoys' dungeon, he ran, panting, straining towards Hermione's terrible, pain-filled, cries.

"Please, Merlin, God, whoever," he gasped desperately. "Please. Save her. Don't let them –" An involuntary sob broke from his throat as he thought of what could happen if he didn't reach her in time. He ran faster.

Finally he reached the stairs. He pounded up them, burst through the door, only to find Bellatrix Lestrange cackling over Hermione's dead body.

"HERMIONE!" he screamed, a cry of anguished desperation.

"Ron! Ron, wake up!" a familiar voice shrieked in his ear. Something cold and wet was poured over his face and he woke with a start. The first thing he saw was Hermione's face, pinched with worry.

"Thank Merlin," he whispered, and clutched her to his sweat-soaked, blanket-wrapped body.

She pulled away after kissing his forehead. "Another nightmare?" she asked, concern etched in her voice. "Ron, you have to take the Dreamless Sleep Potion!"

"No, I can sleep by myself," he protested, already slipping back into unconsciousness. "Hermione," he slurred. "Stay with me." He clumsily wrapped an arm around her, trapping her beside him, and didn't hear the word she whispered as he fell asleep: "Always."


	6. vi: georgeangelina

"Ange? Where'd you go?" George called, trying to find his girlfriend in the midst of the crowd of people. "_Accio_ Angelina Johnson!" he cried, raising his wand.

People screamed as a woman hurtled past them, propelled by an invisible force.

"There you are," George said calmly as she landed next to him in a heap in front of the Burrow's fireplace.

"Did you just – DID YOU JUST SUMMON ME?" she shrieked, getting to her feet and trying to tame her frizzy hair, her dark eyes wild with anger.

"Yes," George shrugged modestly.

"GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY –" she began. The people surrounding them were staring, some with amusement. Out of the corner of his eye George saw Harry and Ginny laughing at him, the cabbage-heads.

"Hey Ange," he murmured.

"What?" she snapped.

"It's 11:59…."

"So?" his girlfriend retorted angrily.

"It's New Year's Eve," he said, rolling his eyes. "And I have to give you something."

He went down on his knees and took a small box out of his jacket pocket. Angelina immediately calmed down, her eyes shining with joy. The crowd around them quieted too, taking in the romantic scene playing out before them.

"Angelina Johnson, will you marry me?" he asked quietly, opening the box to reveal a Muggle plastic spider ring.

"ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME?" she shouted, cheeks flushing with anger once more.

Just then, the people around them started counting down to the new year. "Ten, nine, eight…"

Swiftly George drew out another box from his jacket and opened it to reveal a beautiful gold ring. Angelina burst out laughing, and shouted "Yes!" just as the clock struck. All around them, couples started kissing.

George grinned, slid the ring on his fiancée's finger, and then, dramatically sweeping her off her feet, kissed her.


	7. vii: harryginny

"Happy Birthday, Savior-of-the-World," Ginny whispered, holding a large but neatly wrapped package in her arms.

"Gin!" Harry yelped, pulling his sheets up to his chin. "What are you doing in here? I'm not wearing anything!"

She smirked. "I really needed to know that, Harry."

"Shut up," he grumbled. "And turn your back for a minute while I get dressed. Wait – hold on a second – where's Ron?"

"In my room," she replied, grinning. "With Hermione."

Harry sighed exasperatedly. "How long have you been here?"

"About midnight last night," she said, her grin growing wider.

Harry put his head in his hands. "I don't want to know," he decided at last. "Now turn around." He quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt and got out of bed.

"_Now_ you can wish me a happy birthday," he said, holding out his arms. She gently placed the package down on the floor and then flung herself into his arms.

"Happy birthday," Ginny murmured before kissing him fiercely.


	8. viii: jamesiicalla

"Potter?" Calla Stuart asked hesitantly, upon finding the Head Boy crumpled in a heap on the common room couch, clutching a letter in his hand. "Are you all right?"

He didn't respond. The boy who'd been chasing her for seven years didn't respond when she voluntarily addressed him. Something was definitely wrong.

Calla knelt on the floor beside the couch and tried to look into his eyes, which were shielded by his hands. Gently she removed them to reveal his tearstained face.

"What's wrong, James?" she asked softly, dark green eyes overflowing with compassion. He allowed her to put an arm over his shoulders but still didn't say anything. Then, after a moment of silence in which he seemed to be deciding about something, he thrust the letter into her free hand.

Cautiously she opened it.

_ Dear James,_

_ I am so sorry to tell you this, but I know you would rather hear it from me than anyone else. _

_ Dom killed herself last night. She didn't leave any notes or explanation, and no one has any idea what happened. Lysander Scamander is completely heartbroken. _

_ Your professors have given you and your cousins permission to come home straightaway, with your friends if you want them. _

_ Love, _

_ Mum_

Calla unhesitatingly climbed up on the couch next to him and wrapped her arms tightly about him. "Oh, James," she whispered.

"Will you come with me?" he asked, his voice raw with pain and tears.

The tears in her green eyes trembled and threatened to spill over. "Of course," she murmured.

He embraced her, his grip almost painfully tight, but to him it seemed to be the only thing keeping him going. "Thank you," he whispered.


	9. ix: scorrose

This one is probably too long to be considered a drabble. Oops...

prompts by watching stiricide: Scorrose, vividness, idiocy. Thank you Alice!

Disclaimer: I do not own this, nor any of the other chapters.

* * *

><p>"Wanna go for a walk later?" Rose whispered in her fiancé's ear. They were at the Burrow, and it had been almost two weeks since Christmas, and almost three weeks since she had arrived there after getting off work.<p>

"Hmm...maybe..." Scorpius replied absentmindedly, staring avidly at the chessboard which he was using for a game with Rose's nineteen-year-old brother, Hugo.

Rose poked him sharply. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "Rosie, what was that for?"

"Rosie Posie, are you abusing our dear Scorpius again?" James asked, looking up from the corner where he was sitting by (snogging) his wife, Calla.

"Of course not!" Rose protested vehemently.

"Checkmate," Hugo said triumphantly, moving his castle into position.

"I'll never win," Scorpius groaned.

"Well, I am an internationally acclaimed wizard chess champion," Hugo grinned.

"Let's go, Rose," Scorpius moaned; apparently the novelty of being beaten had worn off after the fifth time. Linking arms with his fiancee, he and Rose passed through the kitchen, murmuring a word of goodbye to Grandma Weasley, Ginny, Hermione, Fleur, Audrey, and Angelina, who were gathered there.

"It's snowing," Rose said softly as they stepped out the front walk, heading for the village.

"It is," Scorpius agreed, tucking a red curl behind her ear and admiring the way her flaming hair stood out vividly against the gray sky. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Your idiocy," she said, grinning, and brushing snowflakes off the shoulder of his coat. "You could have beaten Hugo, if you had only moved your queen at the right time, but no..."

He sighed in defeat. "You Granger-Weasleys and your chess skills. Face it, Rosie, I'll never be able to beat you or your brother or your dad."

"No, probably not," she agreed, smiling. After a moment, she added, "What are you thinking about?"

"You. You're beautiful," he said, kissing the tip of her nose and making her giggle.


	10. x: louisamelie

They meet on the balcony, looking out over the slow-moving river on his aunt's estate near Lyon, France, but Louis's eyes keep darting back to the girl who has maybe-somewhat-almost stolen his infamous heart.

"I don't want to pretend anymore, Mel," he says after a while.

"There's no pretense," Amelie de Glace says quickly. "You love me, I do not love you. End of story."

He just looks at her with his beguiling blue eyes that have stolen the eyes of so many others but have failed him when it comes to this girl, the one he loves. "Can you really say you have no feelings for me at all, Amelie?" he says softly.

She turns away, and even though she attends Beauxbatons, she is more Slytherin than anyone he knows. He _needs_ her, so much. The ache in his chest has been building up for far too long and finally he decides to do something about it: he kisses her.

Amelie kisses him back immediately, almost with hunger, and he can tell that, no matter what she says, she _needs_ him too.

"What do we call this?" she asks, breaking away after a long moment.

He smiles a bittersweet smile, because he knows she'll never let him date her, even court her, not in a thousand years. "What do we call this indeed," he murmurs. "I'd say…it's almost a love story."

She nods in agreement, and he knows his worst fear has come true.


	11. xi: katieoliver

_i don't wanna see you go_

The moment they hear the cry, they come. Katie is digging through an old jewelry box when something sends out an urgent flare of heat, almost burning her. She reads the message and calls: "Oliver!"

They rush to the castle, home of so many beautiful memories and now torn asunder with war and fear, by way of the Hog's Head, and burst into the Room of Requirement, ready to fight.

They are Gryffindors, after all.

_you've been so brave_

It is only once they enter the battle that the fear strikes Katie; looking out on the terrible forces gathered at the base of the castle, her heart stutters. _I'm not ready._

She looks at Oliver for something – courage? Guidance?

The look in his eyes is enough. She almost manages a smile, but tears glitter in her eyes and she reaches out to him. Unhesitatingly he holds her, trying not to show his fear, though the air is thick with the stench of terror. She wipes away her tears and straightens her back with a new determination.

_and for the first time in my life, i don't feel so alone_

"Katie," he says, gripping her hand. "If we die tonight –"

She doesn't want him to think that, and so she kisses him, putting all of her feelings into it: fear, most of all, but also love, courage, and a kind of stubborn hope.

"I know," she whispers, gazing at his face because it may be the last time she'll ever see it again – _God, please, let it not be so – _and clutches her wand firmly, still holding onto his hand as though it were her lifeline – and it is, in a way.

The first of hundreds of spells shoots towards them, and the last thing she sees before raising her wand in battle is his face, panicked, scared, but emboldened by the kind of courage that only love can create.


End file.
